Boycott Wendy's
Overheard at Wendy's tonight........
Intercom: Welcome to Wendy's, may I take your order?
Bay: Yes, I'd like a #2 combo with --
Intercom: What do you want to drink with that?
Bay: Excuse me?
Intercom: What do you want to drink with that?
Bay: Uh, Dr. Pepper....
Intercome: What size?
Bay: Excuse me?
Intercom: What size Dr. Pepper do you want with that #2?
Bay: Um, it's... a combo... what do you mean, 'what size'?
Intercom: Small, medium, or large?
Bay: I thought combos came in one size.
Intercom: No ma'am three sizes small medium or large which one do you want?
Bay: Do the mediums and larges cost more than the price on the menu?
Intercom: Yes.
Bay: Uhhhhh.. then... I guess... a ... small?
Intercom: That's a #2 with Dr. Pepper, will that be all?
Bay: Would you like to know which condiments to put on the cheeseburger?
Intercom: Which WHAT?
Bay: Ummmm.... condiments?
Intercom: WHAAAAAAAT?
Bay: The stuff on the hamburger, like, y'know, mustard and ketchup and stuff.
Intercom: OK.
Bay: OK, what?
Intercom: Is that what you want on the double, the mustard and ketchup?
Bay: No, that was an example of the word "condiments." I was defining the word for you. That's not necessarily all we need on the double.
Intercom: What do you want on that double?
Bay: I'd like ketchup....
Intercome: Will that be all?
Bay: WOULD YOU LET ME FINISH A SENTENCE, PLEASE?
[Silence.]
[Several seconds pass.]
Bay: Hello?
Intercom: Go ahead.
Bay: Uhhhhhhhhhhh.. OK. I'd like ketchup, mustard, pickles, and tomatoes.
Intercom: Do you want cheese with that?
Bay: According to the menu out here, a double automatically comes with cheese. Are you suggesting that I need to order something that is presumably already on the sandwich? Do I also need to ask for a bun?
Intercom: You want a #2 combo, with Dr. Pepper, small, with cheese, ketchup, mustard, pickles, & tomatoes, will that be all?
Bay: Well, it wasn't SUPPOSED to be ALL, but I quit. I give up. You've won. I'll never eat outside my house again.
Intercom: Excuse me, ma'am?
Bay: That's ALL.
---------------
Then she dropped 80 cents of change on the ground between her window and mine.
At least Woodrow got some food. I ate cheese crackers for dinner, and yes, I cried through the whole thing.
Boycott Wendy's.
posted by Bay in TN @ 1:49 AM
5 Comments:
Y'know, this appears to be a universal problem at Wendy's. Here I am on the opposite coast, and I have noticed the same thing. I pull up to the drive thru speaker with my order ready to spill from my mouth. "Single cheese combo, no pickle no mustard, with a Diet, please." These words were carefully chosen. I don't say "Diet Coke" because I've learned that's sometimes misinterpreted as Dr. Pepper, for some reason. They can't misinterpret "Diet." I am prepared for the inevitable "Do you want to biggie size that?" question, to which I will answer "No." I sometimes improvise and end with "And that's it," knowing that I will be challenged with "Is that all?" and giving me the opportunity to repeat to them, thus emphasizing their mental density, "No. That's it."
The best defense, I've found, is a good offense. Treat it as a game. It's the "Can I beat the Wendy's employee to the end of the sentence?" game. I generally lose, but when I do, I can always resort to the "Let's be more condescending than the Wendy's clerk" game. "I will tell you my order again. This time, listen. All the information you need to know is in my sentence. Are you ready?" That sometimes takes them off guard. (Of course, they might resort to the "Let's spit in the customer's food" game, but then I could use the old "Let's call a personal injury lawyer" game.)
Hey, the only power they have in the whole world is to insult the people who pay their salary. Pretty pitiful life, really. They shouldn't be trained to be this way, but they are. Alas, Dave Thomas is gone, but my brother-in-law was a friend of his. If he were still around, I'd be sure these complaints got to him.
Well, Amy, it may please you to know that I did, indeed, write a letter of complaint to Wendy's International. I told 'em what happened -- in a rather dispassionate manner, I might add -- and told 'em, I'm not looking for compensation, I'm hoping they'll find a new way to train their cashiers.
My husband read my letter of complaint and commented, "They'll send you a coupon for a free combo."
We'll see. At least I registered an official complaint.
They like messing with people, I know i use to work there when i was a student,
Are you sure they really said "can I take your order?" not "Can I fuck your Daughter?"
How would you like to bite into a chicken sandwich (from Wendy's in Nashville) only to find the lettuce is covered with blood from an employee with a cut finger? The health department says Wendy's is under no obligation to ask the employee to get tested for HIV or hepatitis.
Being a current wendys employee (though thats about to change. its a terrible company) unfortunately we work under strict time limits. In general the "goal" is to have the customer order, pull up, pay, and recieve their food and leave the drive thru in under 90 seconds. when the drive thru times are high, it reflects poorly on the employees who worked the drive thru that shift, which can result in a lower raise and reviews. Because of the time limits, we kinda HAVE to spit your order out for you. we try to be polite (or at least I do) but when a customer sits at the speaker for 70 seconds debating on a burger or chicken nuggets or whatever it may be, we need to be a little pushy. I dont think its the best way to run a business, but thats just the facts for ya.
Also, when ordering a combo, the best way to phrase it is "hi, id like combo #____, [if you are requesting specific condiments say so here. "without pickle" or "add tomato" etc], (small, medium, or large and yes, prices are listed as 'small combo, but theres a spot that says 'uprgade to medium or large for $.49 or $.89), with a (drink) (if no ice, say so here). Then let the cashier ask if theres anything else, you know theyre going to anyway. itll save time and confusion of you two talking over each other.
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